3.1/5.0

This book came to me in one of those magical universe moments, which is fascinating because of the premise of the book uses a similar moment.

I finished White Teeth by Zadie Smith. Spend a few days reading some of Langston Hughes’ collected works, and was sitting in a Shake Shack, thinking “I need a new book.” And sitting on the table behind me as I got up to leave, I’ve Lost My Way. After inquiring if it was anyone’s book, I took it to a good home.

Not that this books isn’t worth reading. It moves at a very fast pace and there are some interesting insights to the story. But it seems overt, establishing pretty generic characters in modern, relatable, or concrete quandaries. Especially coming from White Teeth, where Smith uses complexity to an almost extreme, I’ve Lost My Way is about as straight forward as a children’s fairy tale.

That’s not to say there aren’t great points to be absorbed. Frye deals with the problems of fame, family, expectation, structure, and social media. The characters are poignantly relatable and refreshingly diverse. Mix race families.

Harun is another diverse voice, with a common problem. He deals with budding sexuality and family expectations.

Nathanial is the most ordinary, even as his situation might seem the most extreme. A negligent caretaker and unstable family life leads him to an extraordinary situation.

These loners [for not a single one seems to have friends they can confide in, minus Harun’s cousin in Pakistan.] happen to bump into each other and find that they can support and love total strangers. This gives them the strength to overcome their difficulties through the power of togetherness and authenticity, and they skip into the horizon happily ever after.

Again, it’s not bad. It’s just a bit simplistic. The characters are if not one dimensional, then type-casted. The plot has some twists and turns, but even those are fairly predictable.

That being said, the morals are good. Do not become obsessed with social media. Put the phone away and engage with the people around you. Do not be ashamed of your cultural heritage. Celebrate it! If you need help, reach out. Friends, Family, Colleagues, Classmates, Teammates, Mentors. They want to be there for you. Let their love in.

Finally, be extraordinarily kind. That’s the only way to live this life. That’s the only way to fill others and to be fulfilled yourself.

3.1/5.0 The book has great morals. For any young adults in that pre-teen, young teen range, can be a good read. Great representation. Downsides, it’s a little simplistic and very straight forward, a problem that plague’s “okay” young adult/teen fiction. Moves quickly, easy read.